Poetic verses are followed by illustrations and art of graphic design with each turn of a page within The Auburn Circle tri-annual magazine. Each piece shares its value in the ultimate goal of cultivating a sense of community amongst artists at Auburn through representing their voices.
With the minds behind this work and the adoration that accompanies it, The Circle was named Plainsman’s Choice best student organization.
Having a community full of open arms, The Circle encourages any student to submit their creative work to the organization. The magazine consists of around 100 pages that are consumed with compositions, included based on a selection process from The Circle staff.
This year marks the first that The Circle orchestrated its selection process differently, using tactics focused around the mission of the magazine. Centered around this comes the arrangement of written and visual art from cover to cover.
“We talk a lot about the actual technical aspects of art,” said editor-in-chief of The Circle, Ren Carroll. “There was a lot of learning that came with this, there was a lot of thinking about what art actually is.”
The Circle served as the first organization Carroll joined on Auburn’s campus and provided her with career-worthy skills and connections that have stuck throughout her time on The Plains.
Reminiscing on her Auburn Circle experience, spending drawn-out days copyediting the magazine with her managing editor reigns as a particular favorite part of her time. With someone by her side, the stressful, time-crunch period stood out to her in a more memorable and special light.
“The Circle has truly changed my life in a very positive way. It made me feel a true sense of belonging that I’ve never had before,” Carroll said.
One ingredient of the spring 2023 edition is senior Lauryn-Elizabeth Dewberry’s flash writing contest-winning poem. Dewberry illustrated her take of the cover of the magazine through her words and received a spot on the inside cover for her work.
As an Auburn student with a passion for writing, Dewberry uses The Circle as a welcoming outlet for her work, and one that gives her the opportunity to continue to pursue writing during her college career.
“Having The Circle to be evidence of Auburn’s talent is really amazing and I think it is incredibly important that The Circle keeps being produced,” Dewberry said. “It gives artists the ability to connect with each other, it gives artists the ability to share their work, but more than anything it gives non-artists the ability to connect with artists in Auburn.”
Located in Suite 1111 in Melton Student Center, The Circle hosts weekly meetings on Monday nights, gathering its members into a shared space centered around all kinds of art.
“We come into this space to kind of de-stress. Our meetings are on Monday nights, so we are gearing up for long school weeks and we just come in as a place to be safe and a place to talk to one another and to bond,” Carroll said.
The Circle will host a launch party for its upcoming magazine on April 17 at Well Red. Distribution of the magazine will be held on the concourse April 17-21.
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